Michigan vs. South Carolina: Scouting report, prediction

Orion Sang Detroit Free Press Published 4:22 PM EST Dec 7, 2018 No. 5 Michigan basketball is still unbeaten. And might be for a while. The Wolverines (9-0) could break the record for the best start to a season in program history, which was set by the 2012-13 team that went 16-0. U-M will be heavy favorites in its next four games, all at home, and should be favored in the four conference games after that, too. Saturday, the Wolverines host South Carolina (4-4), which has had its fair share of struggles this season. Here are three things to watch for when Michigan plays the Gamecocks (noon, Fox Sports 1). Outside shooting South Carolina isn’t very good on offense. But it is solid on defense. The Gamecocks don’t give up a high effective field-goal percentage. They force turnovers and block shots. They also have one of the best two-point defenses in the nation, allowing their opponents to shoot just 39.4 percent inside the arc. That mark is fourth-best in the nation, behind just U-M, Old Dominion and Texas Tech. But South Carolina has struggled against 3-point shots, allowing opponents to hit 38 percent. Michigan has been a solid 3-point shooting team, averaging 36 percent this season, and shot 50 percent from behind the line against both North Carolina and Purdue before making just 25 percent at Northwestern. More on U-M hoops: Jon Teske goes from backup to backbone of team Ignas Brazdeikis knows he’s good, proved it again Simpson’s shooting Junior point guard… [Read full story]